The bill of the 3. bailout for Greece has been uploaded on the website of the Greek Parliament at 3:30 am on Wednesday: 7 files in PDF, a total of 387 pages. The uploading of the bill deprives lawmakers and ministers from ‘future’ claims, that they had no idea what he voted for in the first and second bailout program, exactly like some PASOK minister/s did in the past.
By all criticism to SYRIZA, no one can blame the left-wing night-owls that they lack transparency or collective responsibility.
The bill consists of two articles:
the first article contains the measures prerequisites for the disbursement of the first bailout trance.
the second article contains the ratification of the third Memorandum of Understanding and the Financial Facilitation Agreement.
The total amount of the 3. bailout may reach up to 86 billion euro.
In the letter by Government General Secretary Spyros Sagias attached to the bill, it is underlined that the bill must be adopted by August 13th 2015.
According to the calculations of the Greek General Accounting Office, the measures will bring additional revenues totaling €455 million and small expenditure savings.
Analytically: Revenues & Loss of Revenues
– Expenditure for recruitment by General Secretariat of Revenues: €8.1 million.
– Loss of revenues from abolishing fees for third parties: €28.6 million.
– Loss of revenues from lowering 23% Value Added Tax on beef (and all other meats) down to 13%: €70.8 million in 2015 and €170 million in 2016. The revenues loss will be equated by the partial imposition of 23% VAT in private education 9until now VAT was 0%) : revenues €168 million in 2015 and €240 million in 2016.
– The abolition of the exemption from Unified Property Tax (ENFIA) for properties of Greek National Tourism Organization (EOT) will bring revenues: €1.5 million
– The tax increase in petrol (Diesel) for farmers will bring revenues: €13 million in 2016, €66 million in 2017 and €105 million in 2018.
– Advance tax payments for legal entities: €370 million. For the income-tax year 2014, advance payment is 55%. the increase will be 75% for 2015 and 100% as of 2016.– Technical controls for vehicles will bring revenues: €15.4 million in 2015 and € 56.3 million in 2016.
– Cuts in non-wage benefits ( travel expenses etc) in the public sector will save € 22 million.
– Increasing the retirement age will cut cost at €3 million in 2015, €17.2 million in 2016 and €28.5 million in 2017. (via vouliwatch.gr)
The prerequisite measures bring also changes in the bankruptcy law, in the 100-istallments scheme for debts to the state, limitation to tax breaks for maritime businesses and farmers, changes in minimum pensions, decrease in generics prices, cap to expenditure in public hospitals, increase of claw back, retail sales to run all year, changes in the management of public hospitals, opening of close professions also in touristic professions, deregulation of the Energy market (natural gas), measures for the selling of milk.
The Unified Property Tax (ENFIA) will be implemented again as of October 2015 with 5 installments until February 2016.
The bill which is a combination of austerity measures (taxes, expenditure cuts in public sector, health, pensions) and structural reforms (opening of closed professions, bread & milk sales, sales periods for retails) regulates down to the last cent, what kind of and how much revenues will land in the state’s cash registers so that they money will be diverted directly to the creditors. Taxes and cuts here and there, but also ‘structural reforms’ of groundbreaking importance like the one stipulating that
Bread will be allowed to be sold also by businesses not related to food sector.
In October, another bill with ‘measures & reforms” is expected to land in the Greek Parliament, because these 357 pages of measures are not enough for a 3. bailout.
With the Memoranda of Understanding and 123-bailouts, the term “Taxes” definitely loses its meaning and purpose once for all. Per definition taxes are ‘financial charge or other levy imposed upon taxpayers by a state so that the state can fund various public expenditures and services to the citizens.’ But Taxes under bailout agreements have one and sole purpose: to help the state raise revenues so that it can repay state debts to the state’s lenders.
Since 2010, The Greek Oxymoron has been:
the more taxes the citizens pay, the less service they receive from the state.
Another Oxymoron is, of course, that while the government has stressed the need that Greece has to increase its own resources, taxes are being imposed on farmers practically destroying any chance to increase or even get sufficient primary production. I am not talking of the rich ‘farmers’ that for years had been benefiting from the EU Agricultural Funds spending them in villas and 4×4 vehicles as the EU was giving money to stop and or limit the agricultural production. I am talking here about the real farmers who saw their income decreasing by 27.3% in the years 2006-2013, according to Eurostat statistics.
Yeah, You better think (think) think about what you’re trying to do to me
Sources for 3, bailout in Greek: vouliwatch.gr (long summary), also Protothema.gr
Greek Parliament website incl the 7 pdf files
VAT in Portugal (for comparision purposes). Reduced tax os applied to hotels, pharmacies, periodic press, agriculture, transport of passengers, certain food products. Intermediate tax os applied to food products, entertainment, spectacles, cinema, theater, circus. Portuguese islands in the Atlantic Ocean have fiscal autonomy and pay less tax, as tourism is an important economic activity and all products tend to have higher aquisition costs. Aside from the mainland, there is the Madeira and tbe Açores islands. Taxes for mainland:: Normal 23%, intermediate 13%, reduced 6%. Madeira: Normal 22%, intermediate 12%, reduced 5%. Açores: normal 18%, intermediate 9%, reduced 4%. http://www.economias.pt/taxas-de-iva-nos-acores.
thanks a lot!